Reward Travel

Our next planned travel adventure is a bike trip to celebrate our 25th anniversary as Mr. & Mrs. The actual anniversary was in May of this year, but the trip is planned to coincide with the prime color changes of October along the coast of Maine. We started planning for this trip nearly a year ago, and as I am prone to do, I was on the lookout for the best bang for our bucks. I chose Bike Vermont as the tour company, and locked in the tour and dates right after they announced the 2008 schedule. (In a future blog I will tell all about the trip, but as it hasn’t happened yet, my expectations are high.) This entry is about the adventures I’ve had so far in planning.

I have a Visa that accumulates reward points, and after many years of random purchases, I had enough points for two round-trip tickets anywhere in the continental U.S. In January I was thrilled to find a flight on Delta that met my criteria: it left Colo. Springs mid-morning and arrived in Bangor, Maine, before dark with one stop coming and going. This was not trivial, as Maine seems to be a difficult place to get to from here. I acquired these tickets using my reward points and was feeling quite proud of my conquest. Bangor was still an hour from our final destination and I was researching the optimal mode of transportation for the final leg – most likely a community shuttle. A rental car didn’t seem necessary as we were biking with a tour group.

Around March the emails started. At first, the flight times changed and we would be leaving Colo. Springs at O-dark-thirty in the morning. An additional stop was added, and we weren’t arriving in Bangor until very late in the day. I called the Reward Points travel agent, Ruby, who had set up the flight and was told there was nothing I could do to change flights or airlines. It started to get humorous as flight changes continued to occur every few weeks with notification via email from Ruby. At one point we were flying Colo. Springs to Atlanta to Cincinnati to Boston to Bangor, and the flight from Cincinnati to Boston left before the flight arrived from Atlanta. The last change took us west to Salt Lake City, then on to Atlanta, Boston and finally Bangor. (I was disappointed we were no longer going through Cincinnati as we had never been there.) The return trip included an overnight in the Atlanta airport, though Delta was not offering any accommodations or compensation.

Finally, in June, the Mr. said, “Enough!” He was afraid that by the time we arrived in Maine (if we arrived in Maine) we would be luggage-less and so frustrated we would vow to stay home for every future anniversary for the sake of the marriage. The Mr. flies United regularly for business and is close to earning Premiere status again this year, so he encouraged me to find another way to Maine, preferably on United. Ever the frugalist, I’m happy to report that I found $200 round-trip tickets from Colo. Springs to Boston with only one stop. As I said before, Bangor is one of those places hard to get to from here, so from Boston we are renting a car for the final leg of our journey. I reserved a room at a B&B in New Hampshire for the first night. We will enjoy a leisurely drive up the coast enjoying the colors before we join our bike group in Bar Harbor. I cancelled our “free” Delta flights. Don’t know if I will ever use the vouchers for future travel (which I have yet to see.) I think I will change my Visa to a cash-back program instead of Reward Points.

Watch this space for pictures and musings from our grand 25th Anniversary Biking Adventure.

Grateful & Proud

Yesterday was an Air Force Academy Football game. We've had season tickets for about 10 years, but these particular seats have been in the Mr's family since the beginning, sometime in the 1960's, I'm guessing. We were given the privilege of renewing them when the Aunts & Uncles who preceded us could no longer attend. We sit on the 50-yard line towards the top of the 2nd tier. They are really good seats and we enjoy the camaraderie of the same fellow fans game after game and year after year. The funny thing is, other than Air Force, we don't even follow football.

So we arrived early to the game yesterday, as is our custom. In fact, we were the very first ones sitting in our section. This year there is a new feature to our tickets - $5 to spend in the stadium on food or fan paraphernalia. Previous years we would pack a lunch and have a mini tailgate party, but now we go into the stadium and head to the Chik-Fil-A stand to buy lunch. Then we wander to our seats and enjoy the team warm-ups. As we sat in the warm sun eating our chicken sandwiches I remarked to the Mr, "We have a good life!" And he agreed. We couldn't imagine anything we'd rather be doing at that moment. It was a beautiful September day in Colorado, sunny and warm with just the faintest hint of cool weather to come. But we will enjoy it just as much in November when the sun sets behind the stadium and the temperature plummets to well below freezing and the flag is standing at attention from the gale force winds.

AFA Football is in a class by itself. Of course being at a military academy there is a certain pageantry that is not duplicated: the march-on of the cadets; the full-crowd participation in singing the national anthem; the parachutists that drop into the stadium with the American flag, the POW flag, and the game ball; the half-time show with the falconry demonstrations; the flyovers. Flyovers are a particular highlight. A formation of F-16's flying in formation directly overhead, then turning on the afterburners as they point noses toward space always brings a tear to my eye. The technology and good 'Ole American ingenuity that has culminated in such a marvelous machine makes my head spin. There are usually special presentations during breaks in the game. Yesterday, two Congressional Medal of Honor recipients, circa WWII, were recognized. As we walk out out of the stadium, Lee Greenwood belts out "Proud to be an American," as he has after every game for the last 7 years.

And I am proud. But more than that, I am grateful. I'm grateful for this life, for this country, for this place that I live, and for the people who share all of this with me, and I am not too proud to say so. I'm grateful for the those Medal of Honor recipients who know the cost of our freedom and for the young men and women standing on the field just starting their military careers. I'm grateful for all the families who give their blessing as their own take a stand and are willing to lay down their own lives for a greater cause. I'm grateful for the men and women who started a great experiment in democracy almost 250 years ago, and I'm grateful for those that continue to work out the details daily at the local, state and federal levels. I'm grateful that I have opportunity to express my ideas and I'm grateful for those whose ideas differ from my own. I'm grateful that in a week of economic turmoil, the Mr. & I own our home debt-free and smile at the future. I'm grateful for so much more, and I am very proud to be an American!

Free Lunch

Saturdays are great for a little wandering.

After my Saturday Weight Lifting class at the club I like to visit my local green-grocer-to-the-max, Whole Foods. I always feel like an impostor in this store. Do they realize I am not one of them?


As I wandered the aesthetically engineered produce department I sampled fresh tortilla chips and guac, a little pineapple and Rocky Ford cantaloupe. Today's highlight in produce was a tiny fingerling potato (grown organically in Colorado) roasted in olive oil and seasoned just right. On a good day there are offerings at the fish counter. Today it was smoked salmon salad on a cracker - yum! In recent weeks I sampled tortilla chips and salsa that theoretically had all the Omega-3 good stuff as a serving of Salmon. In frozen foods I tried a couple offerings from Boulder Ice Cream, Raspberry White Chocolate being my favorite. Over in the meat section I found a chicken sausage that was quite good. I'm not a fan of cheese so I skipped through there and headed for the bakery. My favorite is Seed-duction bread though all the breads are good. There were not any sweet treats offered today from the Dessert Counter, but last week was a delicious Carrot Cake. Often there are several samplings throughout the store, but it was a little light today. Yes, it's true, I only came for the free lunch. Occasionally I actually buy something, but today I wandered back out empty-handed thinking through the list of things I needed from a REAL grocery store.


I like Whole Foods as a concept. And there are a few things that I regularly purchase there. I like the bulk section and stock up on oatmeal, local honey, and HempPlus granola which is great mixed in yogurt. In the vitamin section I buy Fish Oil tablets and Elderberry which the Mr. swears keeps the canker sores away. I occasionally buy sushi and eat it on the patio. Seasonally, the Cioppino (tomato based fish stew) warms me from the inside out when the wind is biting. If, in my wanderings, I see something that is on sale and a good deal, I will get it. But in general, things are more expensive and I just feel like I'm being taken advantage of for the sake of atmosphere and good intentions.


The big chains have come a long way in improving the environment and overall shopping experience. My local King Soopers now carries bulk foods and has an excellent selection of gluten-free items. My favorite Safeway is just finishing a major remodel and the ambiance of the produce department is as inviting as Whole Foods. I can find everything I need, and watching sales and using coupons make me feel like I'm getting a good deal. Savings at the gas pump doesn't hurt either. The big three, Safeway, King Soopers and Albertson's, are all within a few miles of my house, whereas Whole Foods is across town. During the course of a week I typically visit them all. But the main reason I will continue to do the majority of my grocery shopping at Safeway and King Soopers is I feel like I belong there. When I visit Whole Foods for my Saturday free lunch I feel like a wedding crasher.

Parental Purgatory - The College Years

Have you seen robins as they are leaving the nest? The babies are as big as the mom, but they look even bigger because their feathers are still kind of fluffy. I was watching one in the backyard a while ago. The mom was on the fence chirping at her offspring. He would fly a little ways, then squawk. She would swoop down and give encouragement, then go back up on the fence. He'd stretch his wings a little, then try again, getting a little further. She came down again and again, occasionally giving him a little snack. This went on until finally he gained enough height that he could clear our back fence and be gone, not from his momma, but from my field of vision.

We are in that Parental Purgatory - not quite "Empty Nester's" yet. The kids' bedrooms are still full and my bank account is still being drained. I'm like the momma bird, encouraging the flight, but still providing the worms.

The Marine is close to home, but he has his own apartment. We still receive most of his mail and keep all his important papers. His closet is full, not with clothes as much as treasures: plastic army men that he spent hours setting up for battle, totes full of balls of every size, Lego creations, Hot Wheels, Light Sabers, Nerf guns. He's holding his own financially, thanks to the GI Bill and a short tour in Iraq. But we help out when he lets us. My biggest concern is how he feeds himself. I occasionally wander with him through King Soops and pull out my card at the end. Of course, he is always welcome home for a meal, the price of admission being a little conversation about his life. He's a full-time student, has a job, a girlfriend, and the occasional Reserves commitment, so we don't see him very often. At 22, he's getting his feet under him and getting his wings.

Little sister, Miss M, is at school 100 miles away. She keeps her own stash of treasures at home, but she's been better about keeping it pared down and I can actually walk into her closet. Prom dresses are still here, as well as plastic totes with baby dolls, half-finished craft projects, a miniature tea set, retired track shoes. Though she is further away, she is still completely dependant on us for the financials, which is okay for now. We talk almost every day and she knows we are ready to swoop in if necessary. She is stretching her wings and learning to fly, but it's a big scary world out there and we are close by with the worms and the warnings.

The Mr. and I are thrilled to watch our little birds fly. That was the goal all along.